It appears there is a hostage deal. When dealing with terrorists like Hamas, it is better to see it happen than listen to the words they say or even the agreements they make. They lie, cheat and steal. They say whatever they need to achieve their ultimate goal, the genocide of the Jews.

There is a lot of talk about the deal and is a good deal or a bad deal. I’ll be blunt. It’s a bad deal. It was ALWAYS going to be a bad deal. From the moment Hamas took the hostages, there was never going to be an opportunity for a good deal. Perhaps if Israel had said on October 8th that Hamas had 24 hours to return the hostages alive or she would turn Gaza into a parking lot, they would have been returned and it would have been a good deal. Israel was never going to kill the civilians in Gaza like that. The United States was never going to allow Israel to do that.

Hamas does not value human life. We have seen that with their use of human shields. Their use of hospitals, schools, mosques, and private homes as military bases. The way they value those who will become terrorists and give their lives to murder Jews. The way they murdered hostages when the IDF got close instead of leaving them alive and escaping themselves. This was never going to be a good deal.

It is a deal Israel had to make. Not because of Biden or Trump. Not because of world pressure or the ICJ. Not because of the U.N. or the antisemites. This is a deal Israel had to make for the soul of the country. Israel does value human life. If you walk the streets in Israel you will see the pictures of the hostages everywhere. It is a constant reminder that they are our family and they have been kidnapped and undergoing unspeakable horror for well over a year. We have to get them home so the people of Israel can begin to heal.

I was talking to somebody yesterday who said that all Israel has done is trade lives today for more lives in the future. That is very possible. It is also a trade Israel has always been willing to make because we value human life today and everyday. Because the future is uncertain and being alive today is what matters. Israel did not surrender. Israel did not lose. The war was not lost. The war was also not won. Yes, the leadership of Hamas and Hezbollah were destroyed. Yes, Syria is no longer under the leadership of Assad and there may be hope for Lebanon. Iran has been weakened. The job is not finished.

The announcement of the deal is showing the world the realities of Hamas yet once again they are not paying attention. They don’t care. The video posted below shows Hamas emerging from tents in the displacement camps in full uniforms with guns. They are not displaced civilians. They are Hamas soldiers and terrorists. Hiding with the civilians. The world doesn’t care because they can’t blame Israel and the Jews.

Hamas will regain control of Gaza even while the IDF is there, just as fast as the Taliban took over Afghanistan before the US completed the withdrawal. They are literally remerging from displacement tents, as you can see in the 1st video, with uniforms, insignia, vehicles & guns pic.twitter.com/emNmqhIJn4

— Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib (@afalkhatib) January 15, 2025

This is a deal I will believe as it happens. When the hostages are home, I will believe we have a deal that involves the hostages that are released. Every step in the process is not guaranteed. I am not optimistic that phase 2 will ever occur. Hamas cannot be trusted. I am hopeful that phase 1 will happen. I pray for the Bibas family to be released in phase 1. They are all on the list. As the father of two sons, approximately the same age difference as Ariel and Kfir Bibas, I relate to them personally. I had the family pictures on chairs during our Passover Seder and kept them there for a few months afterwards.

Getting the 33 hostages returned alive is critical. Hopefully we can get all of the hostages that are alive returned and the bodies of those murdered returned as well. It’s critical to who we are. We also must learn from our past mistakes. Israel maintaining veto power of the terrorists who will be traded for them is required. Some simply cannot be released. Ensuring that Hamas does not rearm and rebuild is essential and I hope the agreement provides the ability for Israel to strike when needed to avoid future terrorist attacks. It is essential that the same mistakes are not made again. This is a challenging deal as it must get the hostages home while doing everything possible to ensure we don’t have future hostages taken and a repeat of October 7th.

Nobody knows in what condition the hostages will return. We know many are in critical condition. After more than a year in captivity, we know there will be emotional damage and challenges. We don’t know what torture they had to endure. We have seen the publicity that Noa Argamani and Mia Schem received and some of the public criticism. We cannot allow this to happen to the hostages when they are returned. They will be fragile. They need our protection. We need to ensure that there is nobody saying how humanely they were treated, that they don’t look starved, that nothing bad happened to them. We need to protect them and silence those that will work to traumatize them once again. We need to support their families and friends as they welcome back their loved ones who are likely not the same people they were on October 6th.

We can celebrate the return of the hostages and be grateful they are home. We can be grateful that Israelis are now able to return to their homes in the north and the south, 15 months after being evacuated. We can also be wary and afraid of the cost of this deal. We need to understand who we are dealing with and not minimize their hatred and willingness to do inhuman things. The video below, of a mother in Gaza promising that October 7 will happen again every year is a perfect example. This is what Israel faces. This deal creates the opportunity for those who hate, for those who don’t value human life, and for those who will do anything to murder Jews, to rebuild and take action. Israel must ensure that doesn’t happen. Never again no longer just refers to the Shoah. It also refers to October 7th. It refers to believing that Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Iranian regime are trustworthy. What we know is that we can’t trust them and we cannot forget that.

Ambassador Michael Oren wrote a brilliant article about this hostage deal. It is the cost of Israel’s failures. We must admit that in order to learn from the catastrophic errors that cost the lives of 1200 people on October 7th and more than 250 people being taken hostage. Part of the cost of this deal is learn from our mistakes and ensure that Never Again truly begins now. Just like Israel has done whatever it takes to get the hostages back, she must do whatever it takes to ensure it never happens again.

For those who hoped for a good deal, it was never possible. You make a good deal when both sides have a common goal. The Israelis want to survive. Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran want Israel to be eliminated. There is no common ground. Israel won’t ever say it’s ok to murder half the population and the terrorists will never say murdering half the Israelis is enough. Pay attention to the words of Warren Buffet and learn from them when dealing with terrorists.

Lets prepare to celebrate the return of the hostages. Focus on the good that they will finally be home. We know that the repercussions from this deal will be large and will have to be accounted for. But not now. Now it’s about our brothers and sisters returning from captivity. Being released from bondage.

Am Yisrael Chai